Espouse Femininity
by 0109silver
Summary: Asami takes Korra out for a girl's day, considering all the work the Avatar is doing. With all the shopping and eating, it was a great day. What she didn't suspect was the blossoming feelings after a trip to a hot spring that evening. What are these new feelings? When did it happen? . . . Short story with 3 or so chapters. Korrasami pairing. Don't like, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

**Espouse Femininity**

**Chapter 1**

**This is set a few months after the season finale. If you see any grammar and spelling, tell me, and I will fix it.**

**((((0))))**

Korra weaved through the winding panels once more, twisting and turning, like a leaf in the wind. Once she found resistance she changed course, spinning on her heel and used the motion of the current to guide her out of the revolving a few more rotations and swift movement, the young waterbender emerged from the whirling artifacts. Sweat rolled down her tanned skin as she heaved in and out, trying to regain her breath from the extraneous training. Tiny droplets platted onto the stones beneath her, not that she cared, and she inhaled again, closer to rhythmic ventilation.

The Avatar was about to enter again when a bubbly, questioning airbender came her way. "Korra! Korra!"

Said girl straightened from her fighter's stance and turned around to meet the little airbender. Plastering on an exhausted smile (and preparing for the rampant interrogation), Korra engaged Ikki and said, "Hey, what brings you here?"

"There's someone here for you! Whatcha guys going to talk about? Is it important? Are you in trouble?—" Korra, thanks to the time around the hyperactive kid, gratefully tuned out the youngster, and glanced behind the rabbit-footed little girl. To her surprise, it wasn't Bolin or Mako or even Chief Beifong coming to see her. It was a certain heiress.

"Asami what brings you here?" The brunette teen inquired with an arched eyebrow. The raven-haired beauty strode to the practicing bender with her usual elegance and poise, back erect and bouncing locks that complimented her features. Slung over her shoulder was a designer purse with a name Korra has never heard of that matches her maroon and black attire. Despite her enervation, the aqua-eyed teen took the time to long at the nonbender with admiration and pride. There was no longer jealousy, just esteem and wonderment.

The raven-haired girl finally reached the bender and smiled fondly, "Well, hello to you too, Korra."

"Touchy," joked the Avatar, crossing her arms. The heiress chuckled softly and rested her one of her hands on the illustrious purse.

"Well, the reason for my arrival is that I was just wondering if we could . . . you now . . . hang out," the jade-eyed girl said sheepishly, if not almost desperately and eagerly. Nevertheless, the suggestion took the shorter teen by surprise, not by the proposition, yet by _who_ proposed it.

The young Avatar was silent, almost too silent for Asami, who shifted on the balls of her feet until affright descended in her. "Unless, you know, you don't want to. I don't want to be a both—"

"No, no, it fine!" Korra interrupted, frantically waving her hands in front of her, trying to placate the panicking girl's train of thought. The waterbender settled her hands at her sides and continued her pacification, "It's just I never thought you would suggest such a thing—"

"Why wouldn't I?" The raven-haired teen asked, cutting off the shorter teen.

The tanned girl didn't miss a beat conveying her concern, "Well, every time we try to do something someone—usually me cancels, or some disaster disrupts world peace, or even you have to go to a Future Industries function and what not. I would have thought you'd give up on the whole hanging out thing." She stopped her near ranting, and looked down at her shoes, which seemed to have some very peculiar and interesting dirt on them.

The taller girl stared for some time, taking in her friend's worry. It was true, ever since the defeat of Amon and his Equalists 'Team Avatar' was preoccupied with the aftermath of the near war. Asami was rebuilding the scorned Future Industries thanks to her father and simultaneously helps the team with splinter Equalist groups and imitators. Mako and Bolin were reconstructing the pro-bending arena and the sport itself (many pro-benders dispersed after the whole tragedy at the tournament, fearing the wrath of Amon), and occasionally helped with the withered police force. Korra, as it seems, had the worst out of all of them. Since she was Avatar of both the benders and nonbenders, she had double the responsibility and double the efforts, not to mention all the other risings across the world, whether it be related Amon or not. So many people wanted war or drama. All free time seemed to be few and squandered by the team.

After a while, the nonbender laughed, which caught the attention of the girl before her. Korra's head shot up in confusion and in surprise of the gentle sound.

"Are you occupied now?" The heiress asked, with a sly smile across her goddess-like face.

"Uh. . ."

"It's a yes or no question." Asami bit back another giggle. Giggle? That was something rare, even for a feminine figure such as herself.

The brunette waterbender hesitated, and then replied, "No . . .?"

The answer was quasi-true. Tenzin has let the airbending training slide more so than not, because of the young woman's hectic life that the moment, yet today she was uncharacteristically light handed with her duties. So the day was dedicating to the bending form and meditation.

"There you have it. Today, we're going out and have a girl's day." The ebony-haired girl cooed.

A girl's day. Korra didn't do girl's day, even when she had the free time. It was her type of opposition she rather avoid than accept. But with the overjoyed teen before her, how could she refuse?

"Okay." The Avatar thought for a moment, then added, "Let me ask Tenzin though and we'll see what we can do."

The taller girl beamed, "I'll go with you to add more leverage." The waterbender nodded and both girls set out for the master airbender.

"So . . ." Korra mused to replete the time. "What _are_ we going to do?"

If it was possible the heiress's smile got brighter, if not wider. "Oh, you know. Girl stuff."

"As in . . ." To Korra, elaboration was defiantly needed if this was indeed a _girl's_ day.

Asami gave the shorter girl a mischievous side glance before rebutting, "Lunch, walking, shopping, pedicures and manicures, maybe a spa or a hot spring." The jade-eyed teen had to terminate her listing because of the adjacent girl's expression growing more and more dismal as the itemization progressed. It was cute, for a lack of a better word. And not letting up the opportunity at hand, she also contributed, "Embrace your femininity once in a while. It's actually quite healthy, if I do say so myself."

Korra groaned outwardly and inwardly berated herself for taking up such an offer. Asami, with no more reserves for self-control, burst out laughing.

. . . . .

After lunch, the girl duo seemed to go to every open boutique in Republic City. In the Avatar's opinion anyway. Asami seemed to be enjoying herself, so the waterbender withheld her comments, not to mention the look in the heiress's eyes was too . . . lovely to pass up—

Wait . . . lovely? When did the aqua-eyed girl think of that?

The raven-haired teen soon gave the younger one the job of toter ("What am I? A butler?" "No you're better: You're free"), and soon enough Korra's arms were filled with various bags of garments and knick-knacks for the heiress. The tanned girl didn't buy anything and nor did she care. All she was concerned about was the lilt girl beside her, talking up a storm. The one thing the Avatar could always count on was the easy conversation that flowed between the two. Nothing seemed to be void in their communication and everything seemed to be the limit. It was one of the many things Korra loves about being friends with such a girl.

"Oh, Korra," Asami radiated, turning to the free-of-charge bearer with a toothy smile crossing her visage. The girl in question half-turned to the paler teen, still trying to navigate through the streets with such a load in her arms.

The taller girl proceeded, "There's this hot spring place a little ways from here that I never been to and I was wondering if you would be up to it."

The topaz-colored teen thought it over. A nice relaxing pool of water will certainly uncoil her aching muscles from the training and the current weightlifting she's doing. The Avatar shrugged nonchalantly and, nonetheless, she agreed.

. . . . .

The hot springs was on the edge of the city, nearest to the mountain that loomed over the industrialized city. It was a quaint, small place with wind chimes and other loosening paraphernalia for the costumers. The operation rested on top of a natural hot spring on the mountain, so no progressive or heavy-duty equipment was needed to pull off such a function. A wall separated the male and female sections of the place, so no . . . unwanted attention and actions would be called upon.

The two girls entered the spring and were directed to the female side by the elderly woman who operated it. The two friends were hit by a thermal wall of vapor once they entered the vicinity. It was stuffy at first, but it languished away when the relaxing steam settled in. Both teens went to the changing rooms to strip from their now heavy clothing.

Asami seemed more than comfortable to shed her garments and slide into the blistering water. Korra on the other hand was a bit more shy and timid to come out. She even disrobed a near room away from her jade-eyed friend. The heiress was taken aback by her friend's uneasiness and let her worry show in her voice.

"Korra. . . are you okay?"

There was a moment's pause. "Yeah everything's fine." Another pause. Now the ebony-haired teen was truly concerned. She was about to get out and check on her when her friend said, "It's just . . . um . . . could you not look."

Asami didn't suspect that response. At first she thought the waterbender didn't want to look at her, however she soon realized it was because Korra didn't want Asami to see _her_. The older girl bit back a sigh of relief at her conclusion and settled back in the pool. The heiress understood the girl's modesty and diffident look on her body (though the paler teen thought she had nothing to worry about, Korra had trained all her life regardless). She was once like that too, but soon grew out of it because of the compliments and loving looks from others. Then, it occurred to her that the Avatar has been in isolation nearly all her life, so there was no peer socialization in the tanned girl's childhood. Asami instantly felt sympathy for the brunette.

"Okay . . . I'm not looking." To emphasized she closed her eyes and turned her head to the side. After few moments, she heard the pitter-patter of bear feet to stone and soon she felt the water level rise marginally. Asami opened her eyes and whirled her head to her dear friend, who sat across from her. The shorter girl tried to preoccupy her view with the steam around them.

Due to the dense water vapor and distance, the older girl couldn't see the other teen's body. Which somehow Asami seemed to yearn for slightly, but from the enshrouding air the longing was stopped short. To her surprise this disappointed her. The jade-eyed shook the thwarted feeling and engaged the young Avatar into conservation.

This soon loosened the younger girl up and somehow they stumbled on to the discourse of relationships.

"Speaking of which how are you and Mako doing?" The heiress inquired, with a pang of sorrow hitting her. No, it wasn't because her past relation with the firebender or the whirlwind of emotions that came with him (she long since accepted it; it wasn't like she was in love with him). It was just the gloomy filling she had when she thinks of the couple, almost like she longed for a relationship something like theirs—to have what they have (or was it to have a particular someone?). However, when a somber-filled expression flashed across the Avatar's features, the raven-haired girl begrudged what she asked.

"There is no me and Mako," the tanned girl riposted, almost indifferently. That was certainly not what Asami surmised.

The older teen studied the other, "What do you mean?"

Korra took the time to examine something behind the paler girl's back. "We . . . um . . . we're kind of . . . well, broken up . . . from each other."

The other girl didn't want to think of such a thing, but the news elated her mood passably. Disregarding the weird feeling of happiness, the ebony-haired teen comforted, "Are . . . you okay? Do you need to talk about it?"

The waterbender forced a harsh laugh, which in itself produced a feeling of melancholy in the taller girl. "No, I'm actually quite relieved about it."

The other friend arched a black brow, "Oh?"

"Do you want me to elaborate?"

The heiress smiled, "If you want."

The Avatar perked up slightly; obviously she wanted to get it off her chest. And the friend before her was more than happy to be confided in. "Well, we have been busy from the whole Equalist fiasco and the aftermath, so I wanted to get my priorities straight—peace first, boyfriend second." The aqua-eyed girl placed a hand behind her neck, revealing more of her cleavage. Asami tried to keep her eyes on the younger girl's face, as she desperately wanted to peak down.

The teen continued, "He actually didn't really take it well." Another abrasive laugh, "Mako thought that he was above the world and wanted himself to come first. We got in a fight about it. And we mutually ended it."

Asami gawked at the other girl for a moment before choosing her words diligently, "That sounds vaguely familiar . . ."

"Don't get me wrong, we had a good time together . . . but . . ." the bender trailed off, leaving the nonbender at the edge of the metaphorical and literal seat.

"But what? Korra . . ." The heiress resisted the urge to reach out and comfort her friend, but refrained, fearing a contempt reaction from the intimate contact. So far, she can only watch.

The topaz-colored girl continued, somewhat monotonously, "Somehow something was lost in the three months that we were together. Like the spark wasn't there anymore. I think I was the only one to notice though."

The paler teen listened intently to every word, hoping she can somehow help the young Avatar inadvertently through her silence. She desperately wanted to comfort her friend physically but the repercussions may outweigh the action. The heiress didn't know how the teen would react especially with their current lack of clothing. So instead, she just nodded along.

"I mean I could have hurt him worse if I prolonged it, you know," the shifty eyes of Korra caused Asami's heart to clench. Once again she stopped herself from doing something drastic like take her friend's hand or go up to her and embrace the poor girl. "I think he truly fell for me . . . but, I guess I fell _out_ instead."

"Korra . . ." the jade-eyed teen started, scooting closer, though the steam made it hard to determine such a thing. "Stuff happens like that, people grow and people fade. And unfortunately that also goes for love too. Love grows and love fades. Sometimes for a short period, while others . . . permanently. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

The waterbender, hearing those sweet and reassuring words, looked up to meet the vivid jade of the nonbender. Blue turquoise colliding with green viridity. Through the steam the intense gaze of the two girls was indisputable, virtually palpable. Korra gave a weary smile and Asami gave one right back.

Deciding to change the subject, therefore change the heaviness in the room from the exotic girl's aqua eyes, the heiress inquired, "You know . . . I have never seen you with your hair down."

Clearly taking the hint in distraction, Korra replies with crossed arms, "You can't necessarily take down bad guys with you hair in your face. Now can you? And don't get me started on firebending."

Directing her gaze upwards more, the ebony-haired girl laughs, "I do it all the time."

"Well, you're different. Your hair is always perf—out of your face." The Avatar stopped herself before saying something calamitous. Like saying the heiress was perfect or something along those lines.

The taller girl caught the other girl's sputter, despite her response, "Have you even tried it?"

The instant silence answered for her. Asami grinned naughtily, "Come on take it down!"

The brunette grumbled a rebuttal but it fell short. After a few minutes of light-hearted bickering (Asami being victorious of course), the topaz-colored girl yielded and began taking the hair accessories out. The paler girl watched keenly, as the long tresses fell over the waterbender's shoulders. The teen hitched a gasp in her throat, as the girl before shook her head letting the dark chestnut locks flow down her shoulders. The tanned deity in front of her blushed, visible in spite of the thick steam. She looked . . .

"Korra you look—"

"Please don't start. . ." the aqua-eyed girl looked the side, clearly uncomfortable in her situation. "Don't finish that sentence. I'm not that nice looking or pretty."

The older girl was in silence and, in no doubt, astonishment. Wide eyed and speechless, she only stared at the unbelievable sight before her. Did she really think that of herself? Just look at her . . . she was _gorgeous_. Then the raven-haired teen remembered her earlier dissection of the Avatar's life. How she was ostracized and had no peers around her. She probably never had anyone of her age comment on her until recently when the tanned teen came to Republic City.

There was an obvious awkward silence between the two teens, until Asami's confidence grew tenfold.

"You're right . . . you're not pretty." Korra gave her a satisfied smile until the jade-eyed girl swam over to her and stopped a few feet away. The air seemed to get even more humid than before by the close proximity of each other. Yet what enraptured Korra the most was the confusing tempest of emotions in Asami's beautiful eyes, it was cross between desperation, admiration, yearning, and something that resembled philia and affection. It scared the young Avatar.

And then the ebony-haired heiress came closer, cupping the topaz-skinned teen's face, sending chills down Korra's spine as well as the girl before her. The way the heiress held and touched her, gentle and thrilling, was the most perplexing caressing the younger girl has ever experienced. Absent-mindedly, she told herself that she never wanted the contact to break. The waterbender's breath became nonexistent as piercing jade eyes came closer and closer. . .

Then a voice came in, entering the clouded atmosphere of the younger girl's mind. And, boy, was it the most seraphic and bewildering sound ever. "You're beautiful."

The words seem to hang in the air as the Avatar gazed into the vivid eyes of her friend which held so much conviction to the words spoken. Such notion held in those eyes . . .

Their faces inched together, breathing in each other's essence as their skin grazed against one another underneath the water. Electricity shot through their nerves as their bodies came closer, as their beings intertwined. Their legs would subconsciously graze, sending new feelings through the girls. The duo wanted more with every gentle tangency, with ever angelic abrasion to each other. Asami brought her face closer to the aqua-eyed teen's, and the said teen seemed to turned her head as their faces drew nearer and nearer. . .

_Ding!_

A bell rang, indicating the end of their spa session. Both heads shot back by the disturbance, and the fractured moment shriveled away like the heiress's hands from the bender's cheeks. Each girl was disappointed with the lack of sensational contact as Asami scooted back, face burning and body shaking from the physical and mental stimulus that was taking place.

Both girls stuttered out an apology, while the nonbender ran to the changing room and the waterbender looking elsewhere but her friend. Once the friends were dressed and not blushing profusely, they left the hot springs. The two friends finished the day with a stop to Kuang's Cuisine (courtesy of Asami with the reservations) and the pair headed back to Air Temple Island. Neither of them said a word about what took place in the springs, even though the incident was running rampant through their minds the entire time.

**((((0))))**

**Well, how was it? Good, bad, astounding? With any reaction, please review!**

**Next Chapter****: The pair can't sleep because of the weird turn of events from the day. One of them figures it out sooner, while the other is still skeptical. Oh, and Korra gets help from an unsuspecting source.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Espouse Femininity**

**Chapter 2**

**If you find any mistakes in grammar or spelling, please tell me, I WILL fix it. And thank you for all the reviews!**

**Enjoy.**

**((((0))))**

It would be a lie if either girl said that they had a decent night's sleep. Because it would be. The two young women tossed and turned, covered and uncovered, sighed and moaned as the futile night progressed.

Asami had the worse of luck between the two, considering the circumstances. The heiress ended up venturing to her study, reconstructing and managing her industry. Burying herself into sempiternal paperwork, she preoccupied her mind with needless statistics and needless policies. It worked . . . for the time being.

Eventually, Asami's mind went back to the evening before. The shopping, the eating, the Water Tribe girl who accompanied her along the way . . . and her resplendent aquamarine irises. The ebony-haired teen shook her head violently and sighed in dismay. Leaning back into the expensive leather chair, the heiress crossed her arms and bowed her head down, squeezing her eyes thought dubiously as her mind raced like one of her Satomobiles on the testing track. _What happened?_

The pale teen commemorated the past twenty-four hours through her mind. She reminisced the day in perfect lucidly from the moment she awoke to the time she left Korra. Asami remembered the feeling of anxiety building up in her as she asked her only girl friend to hangout fearing, like many times before, being turned down. The Avatar was busy, so it was very possible that her offer may go unaccepted, or worse, spurned. The younger girl had done it before, declining her invitation to socialize or just talk, leaving the jade-eyed young woman dejected with her shoulders slumped. And when Korra did accept, it elated the older girl to beyond what was necessary or expected with such jubilance.

Even so, when she was talking to the waterbender, the heiress felt so free-hearted and at ease; like there was nothing to hold her back or nothing out-of-bounds to converse about. Korra was easy to talk to and had a great sense of humor to put icing on the figurative cake. She lost count of how many times the younger teen has made her full-bore laugh in public.

Therefore, when Asami's mind went to the memory of the hot spring, an unfamiliar feeling swelled up in stomach. Remembering the way her own eyes trailed across Korra's arms and shoulders and wished—no desired—to see the rest of her bare, tanned skin. The heiress wondered if her friend leered the same way as she did or if she was too humble or self-conscious to do such a bold thing.

The raven-haired teen shook her head again and pinched the bridge of her nose. A ragged sigh escaped her lips as her psyche rummaged through the events, particularly the moments when she and Korra were so close, when Asami's hands cupped the smooth, soft skin of her friend. She recollected how their skin touched and the jolt of emotion that passed through her nerves. In fact, the more the heiress thought about it, the more her breathing became shallower and shallower.

A shiver ran down her spine. And right after, a hint of anger filled her. The anger came from the fact that she was usually quite skilled in deciphering emotions and events and now she was at a complete loss. Asami was angry at herself—

The jade-eyed teen wasn't the one to flagrantly cuss out loud. Years of a luxurious and urbane upbringing squandered the last remaining derogatory remarks from her vocabulary. Yet now as the sudden epiphany slammed into her, turning her body numb and motionless, she couldn't help but replenish some lost, explicit words to her mental dictionary.

"Oh, shit."

. . . . .

Korra, compared to the heiress's night, was the most fortunate. Yet the only fortunate thing about the slumber was she actually closed her eyes and slept. However, all the luck ended there. It was the dreams that plagued the young waterbender that counted for the horrible night. No, it wasn't dreams . . . more like visions and monologues.

_The sun was bright that day. That is what the young girl remembered the most. The illuminating ball of light in the sky, the source of life in the world. The girl was dashing through the forest, laughing and giggling, jumping and rolling, all this despite the long dress her mother forced her to wear. The girl was of the age of 10, in the innocence of youth, without a care in the world. Her lightly tanned skin was glistening with sweat as she ran through the forest and her long limbs projecting her body forward. She had long dark-brown hair which was only tamed by a ribbon near the end of the mane, but due to her movement it looked more like a dark cape flapping in the wind._

_The runner crashed through the forest and entered a small meadow. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a head bob down in the tall grass. A mischievous smile crossed her lips as she shouted, "Akemi!" She paused, flickering her gaze to where the head once was. "Akemi, where are you?"_

_Carefully and diligently, the girl crept around the meadow, making sure not to make a sound. The young girl slipped behind a tree, hoping she was out of the watcher's eyeshot. A couple of minutes later, still creeping along the forest floor, the girl was finally behind the figure. A small, delicate silhouette was clustered in the tall grass surrounded by flowers and weeds, oblivious to the sneaking figure stalking them from the backside. The dark-headed girl crouched low and heel-toed to the "concealed" figure. Once the girl was close enough, a mere ten or so feet away, she pounced. _

_With a warrior yelled and swift movement she pinned the figure down to ground and laughed hysterically. The silhouette struggled against the bigger girl's grip but failed and slumped against ground in defeat. _

_"I win again Akemi," stated the dark-headed girl with a sly smile. The silhouette, Akemi, produced a faux pout and whine._

_"You cheated."_

_The top girl laughed, "And how can I cheat? We were just playing. No rules."_

_"Still not fair," complained Akemi, still faking her displeasure. "You're so tall!"_

_"That's not my fault!" The top girl rebutted quickly as she lessened her grip on the other girl's wrists. "My parents are just ta—"_

_Rustling behind the duo curtailed the dark-haired girl's rant. The two quickly sprung up and was about to dart away when they heard a familiar sound._

_"Akemi! Where are you dear?"_

_The said girl replied hastily, "Over here father!"_

_After a couple more seconds of rustling, a man emerged, Akemi's father, with several men in tow. All wore indifferent expressions which suggested something was amiss. _

_Taking notice of this, the two girls exchanged looks and waited for the men to make their way to the pair. A loud silence blossomed and the only thing to disturb it was rustling wind. The breeze ruffled Akemi's light chestnut hair as she tried to situate it back in its usual bun; the taller girl laughed knowing Akemi's compulsive perfectionist ways. Akemi glared, sending a wave of dark blue to her ridiculing best friend. In return, the dark-haired girl stuck her tongue out._

_The party of men finally came up to the teasing young girls. Akemi's father took the lead in speaking, "Akemi, how are you?" He tried, he really did. But his daughter saw through his façade._

_"Father, what is wrong?" The young girl's voice was laced with concern. _

_The father's face grew grim, "The sages and I have found the identity of the Avatar, Akemi."_

_"That's great!" Akemi beamed, looking at her friend with a smile. But it soon faded when the smile wasn't requited. Her dark-haired friend stood still, entrapped in the gaze of her friend's father, who looked at her sullenly. Akemi's dark ocean eyes went wide as the pieces came together._

_Clearing his throat, Akemi's father bowed down before the young girl and soon the sages did the same. "We are honored to meet you . . . Avatar Kyoshi."_

The late Avatar's voice came in, crisp and calm as she spoke, "That was the day I found out my destiny. And it also was the day when I left my best and only friend. Ten long years passed, elements needed to be mastered and peace needed to be restored in the world time and time again. So, the first chance I got I went back to my homeland, where my friend resided."

_Avatar Kyoshi knocked on the door and waited patiently for someone to answer. Uncharacteristically, the Avatar grew anxious and nervous. She could face down an army by herself, or go up against an angered spirit, but when it came to rekindling a friendship Kyoshi was literally shaking in her boots. It felt like an eternity standing in front of the door, but only it was seconds in real-time. _

_Then the door creaked open, revealing the young lady of the household. The Avatar stood still-shocked has she gawked at the beauty before her. Her old friend had certainly grown in the years they were separated. Akemi was certainly taller (definitely not as tall as the Avatar) and certainly curvier than when she was 10. Her light brown tresses were tied up in her trade-mark bun and chopsticks and the big doe eyes were brighter and lovelier than what Kyoshi remembered. Akemi has grown into a gorgeous young woman._

_"Hello, how—" the woman stopped in mid sentence as she leered at the figure in front of her. The makeup almost threw the young woman off, yet when she saw the dark green almost black irises of the guest, she squealed._

_Akemi bounced up and down and flung herself a few feet in the air to wrap her arms around the old friend's neck._

_"Kyoshi!" Akemi cried in delight._

_Despite the small stature of the friend, the Avatar was forced to take a step back and wrapped her arms around the zealous young woman. Kyoshi giggled—which was something rare in her years, and gently set the avid friend down._

"Once we were acquainted again, we struck up our friendship like no years pasted between us. We would talk until dawn and still we would want to keep conversing. My old friend was just the same after all the years apart and apparently so was I, as Akemi continuously told me. Two years passed and our burning friendship never dwindled or died. Yet during those years something changed.

I became jealous of her various boyfriends and started to envy what they had—my Akemi. Even though I never voiced my covetous concerns to my friend, my heart was screaming of envy when they wrapped their arms around her or showed other affections to her. When they did such things I would hastily look away and glare at the ground trying to hide my anger. At first I didn't know what it was, maybe it was the feelings of a normal friendship—protective or vexed of your friend's choices.

Then, gradually and progressively, I wondered what it would be like to embrace her like her scores of boyfriends did, to hold her close or caress her body. On multiple occasions, I stopped myself from doing something disastrous like reach for her hand or push away strands of hair from her angelic eyes. I didn't know what to do or who to go to. Should I tell her? Would she be disgusted by me? It was all an enigma until one night . . ."

_Akemi watched the Avatar, her friend, basking in the moonlight as she went through her elemental katas from fire to water, then air and finally earth. She repeated it over and over; sweat simmering across her softly tanned skin. She was in her practice uniform, a simple beige and green karatagi with thin cloth slippers. She bore none of her usual makeup or face paint, which was something rare and treasured to the smaller friend. Akemi smiled softly as she made her way to her bending companion._

_For some peculiar reason she awoke in the middle of the night only to find Kyoshi exercising and bending in the courtyard of her home. The ocean-eyed girl was accustomed to this, since her dear friend often has a gumptious and analytical mind, which can be a blessing and a curse. So far, at the moment, it leans more toward a burden for Kyoshi seemed to be troubled with it. Akemi descended the steps and called out her friend's name._

_The Avatar stopped rigidly and half-turned to her, head low and eyes averting Akemi's. The young woman took notice of her posture, and silently prayed nothing is troubling the strong woman._

_Avatar Kyoshi came out here for the peace, to mollify her rambling mind about her riddle of feelings. Usually bending and stances helped, however tonight was more defiant than the rest. Her stances were semi-sloppy to the trained eye and her edict to strikes were light-handed, to put it in an optimistic view. Yet, lo and behold, the person who seeded the anarchy in Kyoshi's psyche has arrived and there was no escape. Kyoshi relinquished her stance and idly turned; making sure her visage was enshrouded by the darkness. She didn't need her unpainted face to give away her whirlwind of emotions._

_Akemi came closer to her friend and asked, "Not sleeping well?"_

_Kyoshi continued looking down, "Yes, unfortunately."_

_The ocean-eyed woman tilted her head, obviously worried about her close friend's well-being. "Do you . . . do you want to talk?"_

_Like before, Kyoshi averted her gaze and muttered, "It would help, but no. I don't want to talk."_

_Now, Akemi was seriously concerned. Her friend always talked about her problems, no matter how grievous or meek they were. This . . . this was something else entirely. Akemi suppressed a gulp, and stepped forward, noting the flinching of the Avatar._

_"Is it me?" The young woman inquired boldly if not_ _overly_ _presumptuous._

_Kyoshi choked, and then mentally berated herself from being so weak. She can face down an armada of ships and vessels, but this one petite woman had her frightened! Oh, how wry! Finding new-found confidence, the Avatar squared her broad shoulders and straightened her back. She looked down at her old friend and lied._

_"No." Her voice was harsh and her response was almost too curt for credibility. Akemi tilted her head more, eyes near pleading._

_Rapidly, the smaller woman grabbed Kyoshi's hand and tugged her to the nearest bench. The Avatar tried to ignore to spread of warmth through her body as her palm met her friend's. They made it to the stone bench and both sat, Akemi a bit more gracefully that Kyoshi. The taller friend continued to avoid eye contact._

_Still grasping Kyoshi's hand, Akemi enjoined, "Kyoshi . . . please tell me what is wrong."_

_Her plea went unanswered, as the Avatar turned her head away more, making sure not to catch the gaze of blue. Akemi scooted closer, much to Kyoshi's burden, and tentatively brushed a few strands of hair away from the deep green eyes of other woman._

_Kyoshi's patience snapped. Before Akemi could state her worry, the taller girl surged forward and crashed her lips to hers in a desperate attempt. An array of emotions washed through the girls and as Akemi's brain was about to comprehend what was happening, the sensational contact was lost. The smaller girl blinked several times whilst the Avatar promptly rose and briskly walked off. It took Akemi a couple of moments to process what had just occurred, and she just leered at her friend's retreating frame. Yet once her brain became unsaturated in all aspects of Kyoshi, she leapt to her feet and chased down her demoralized friend._

_"Kyoshi! Wait!" Akemi ran up behind the Avatar and took her wrist. "Kyoshi . . ." she said_ _docilely, almost in a whisper._

_Kyoshi didn't turn, only offering Akemi her back. Her voice finally cracked out, "Don't . . ."_

_However, the ocean-eyed woman was ascertained notwithstanding her quasi-clouded and hastened mind. When the taller woman didn't respond, she took the matter into her own hands. In spite of her bantam physique, Akemi pulled the Avatar by the wrist down to her level. Taken aback, Kyoshi stumbled forward, slightly bowing to her smaller friend. Akemi then lunged forward, placing Kyoshi's lips onto hers once more, yet this time it was because she wanted to._

"That night we struck up a depraved affair in the eyes of society. But to us it was the right thing to do. We spent years sneaking around, avoiding and stealing affections from one another. It was difficult at times since we were both noble women of our era, and our parents expected us to be married by our age. Multiple suitors were sent by our parents in hopes to wed us on some day. Yet time and time again we turned them down.

Suspiciousness started to spread through our homeland because of our apprehensiveness toward the men. In an attempt to mute and appease the people, I married. Fortuitously, he died later that year. Nevertheless, I still had to do what any good wife would. And fortnight after his death I discovered I was pregnant. Akemi and I raised my child, Koko, like it was our own. Seemingly, nothing could be better in our lives.

I believe what I am trying to say to you, Korra, is that it is okay to love a woman. It is alright to love anyone. Even though it may be confusing and bewildering at first, it is fine to love who you choose, not who you're forecasted to adore. Times change and so does the people. Love transcends through the generations but adversely so does prejudice. Just be careful, Korra—"

Korra jerked awake, eyes wide and lungs gasping for air. Strands of hair adhered to her moist skin as she tried to calm herself for the vision that night was incomprehensibly chilling. The Avatar, still panting like a turtle-fish out of water, shook violently from the beautiful nightmare that had just taken place.

Korra wasn't stupid, far from that assumption; she knew what was going on and knew that her past lives could feel her confusion. She knew that the vision wasn't a coincidence, that it so happened to tell a tale similar to her own bout she was in the midst in. Avatar Kyoshi was aiding her to make a choice, yet also telling her to be worrisome about her decisions and actions.

The waterbending teen scoffed to herself as she laid back down, clutching the sheets. It was probably just a phase, a simple intriguing thought. Maybe Kyoshi took it too literally, misunderstanding her incommode for something else entirely.

She shouldn't . . . couldn't . . . she can't be feeling this way. Specifically in _that_ sort of way. A simple experimental thought, yes, that was logical, a meek questioning about could perhaps happen. Smiling to herself, Korra closed her eyes slowly as she repeated over and over that it was impossible. She slid further into the mattress trying to ease her rushing mind.

Nonetheless, sleep never came again.

. . . . .

In the midmost of the nighttime sky, the pair of girls never did sleep again for their minds were racing with the new-found emotion both never thought was imaginable. The heiress and the Avatar, both so different yet so similar in paradoxical ways, finally came to the conclusion neither ever suspected. It was wrong, vile, despicable, and perverse; that was what they were raised to believe, what they were brought up to be the truth in the world. Still, as the duo retrieved the previous evening, how could they deny the slim possibility of it being so right?

**((((0))))**

**There you have it. Another installment of this fabulous story. So, did it strike your fancy or did it fall short? Please review.**

**Next Chapter:** **Asami and Korra meet again! Yet before anything proceeds, Korra embraces some more of her femininity with someone _other_ than Asami.**


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